Token Of Love
by adromir
Summary: Prequel to Manyan Series : Keldarion was angry at little Legolas for breaking a memento of their dead mother. Could the elfling make things right once more?


**Summary :** Keldarion was angry at little Legolas for breaking a memento of their dead mother. Could the elfling make things right once more?****

**Hello, everyone. I've returned, but only briefly. This fic is short, only one chapter long. The storyline had been kindly suggested by Jamie (Thank you, mellon!). In this story, Legolas and Keldarion's age was equivalent to five and fifteen of human scale respectively.**

**Jamie, this one is for you.**

*************************************

                "Mother!"

Keldarion jerked awake in his bed, breathing rapidly. Sitting up, the crown prince of Mirkwood then released a heavy sigh. He put his head in his hands, near to tears. "Oh, mother…" 

His recent dream of the late Mirkwood Queen only reminded him of how badly he still missed her since her death five hundred years ago. 

Queen Marwana had died while giving birth to Thranduil's youngest child, Prince Legolas. Keldarion was there that fateful night, standing outside his parents' chamber in great anxiety and fear as he kept hearing his mother's moans and screams of pain. Then everything had gone terribly quite. A while later, they had let him in. The first thing he had noticed was his beautiful mother lying so weak and pale within his father's embrace. She had bid him to come near, speaking softly in that feeble voice. "Keldarion…my son. My time is coming…to an end."

Hearing that, the prince had collapsed on his mother's breast, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Promise me…look after your brother…for me," the queen had continued. "Love him…like how I love…you."

That was when Keldarion had become aware of the tiny bundle cradled in the king's other arm. The baby was so silent and still that the prince thought he was already dead. "My brother?" 

Taking the baby from his father, Keldarion looked down at the exquisite features of the little elf, marveling at the golden tuft of hair that was not so different from their father's. His baby brother fluttered his eyes open then, saw Keldarion's looming face, and smiled.

Keldarion had never stopped loving his brother since.

Reaching down, he pulled open a drawer of the chest beside his bed. After rummaging around, he finally found what he was looking for and took it out. It had been one of Marwana's favorite bottles of scent water. He stared at it in reminiscence before pulling out the stopper and taking a sniff. The bottle was now empty but the wonderful fragrance was still there, albeit faintly. He smiled, glad that he still had his mother's scent with him. 

_And I have Legolas. He looks so much like mother._

Climbing out of his bed, Keldarion then walked out the door towards his brother's chamber. He found the elfling deeply asleep, clutching a stuffed oliphaunt to his chest. After placing the small bottle on a nearby side table, Keldarion slid under the coverlet and pulled his little brother against him, kissing the crown of Legolas' head. "I love you, brat. I will always love you. I promise."

Legolas' only answer was by sighing contentedly and leaning closer to the elder prince.

******************************

The next day, Keldarion was just returning from a ride into the woods when he noticed that his little brother was practicing archery in the training field, alone. Relinquishing the care of his mount to the stable hands, the elder prince went to observe Legolas' progress.

"Hey, brat. How does it go?" Keldarion smiled when he saw that Legolas had placed various small objects at several difficult spots to sharpen his skill.

Legolas grinned. "Hey, Kel! I'm getting better! I've just hit the farthest target!" the younger prince said enthusiastically. "Now, watch this. See that small bottle over there? I'm going to hit that one too, mark my words!"

As Legolas took aim, Keldarion stared at the said bottle. _That looks very familiar, just like…He blanched._

"No!" Keldarion shouted. But it was already too late. Legolas' arrow had flown off the bow…and struck against the bottle. It instantly broke into tiny pieces upon impact. And that was how Keldarion's heart felt like; broken and shattered.

"See? I told you I could do it!" Legolas was jumping up and down with glee. "I'm now the best archer in Mirkwood! I'm good! I'm…"

"You are an idiot!" Keldarion yelled, clenching his fist. "A total and absolute stupid idiot!"

Legolas went still, blinking in astonishment under his brother's fierce glare. "Kel? What...what are you talking about?"

Keldarion ran to get the remains of the bottle with Legolas following closely behind. "Kel, what is it? What did I do?"

"Where did you get this, huh brat? Where did you get this thing?!"

Legolas flinched at his brother's loud roar. He never saw his brother so angry like this. "I…I found it in my room…on the table. Why?"

Keldarion cursed himself for his own carelessness. He had totally forgotten about the bottle when he woke up that morning beside Legolas. He should have placed it back inside his drawer for safekeeping like always.

"Why are you so angry, Kel? It's just an empty bottle," Legolas said nervously.

"_Why? You want to know why?" Keldarion showed the broken pieces to his brother. "This used to belong to mother! Her favorite scent was in here! How could you do this to me? Her scent is all I have left of her!"_

Legolas' lips trembled as he realized the grave mistake he had just done. The bow slipped from his fingers and fell unnoticed to the ground. "I'm sorry, Kel. I…I didn't know."

"Then why didn't you ask?" Keldarion was still yelling. His fists closed over the shards, cutting into his palms but he was not aware of the pain, so angry he was with his brother. "Why did you just simply take whatever things that you want without asking first?"

"How should I know? The bottle was in _my _room!" Legolas shouted back, already in tears.

"That doesn't mean everything is yours, you fool!" 

"Kel, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know!"

"Just get out of my sight!"

"Kel, please…"

"Get lost, brat! Before I do something I'll regret!"

With tears running down his face, Legolas whirled around and ran. His small but fast feet quickly took him away from the field as if he was being chased by a demon.

As soon as his brother disappeared from his sight, Keldarion collapsed to his knees. The broken glass still lay in his fists, drawing blood and tears of uncontained anger and sorrow.

***********************

Legolas watched from afar as Keldarion left the field and headed back towards the stable. The elder prince reappeared a while later, riding a red mare at breakneck speed into the woods. Legolas noticed the great distress on his brother's face and felt terribly guilty for putting it there. 

Climbing down the tree he had been perching on, Legolas desolately returned to the palace. With a tear-streaked face, he entered his chamber and bent down beside his bed. He pulled a box out and placed it on the mattress. Opening the lid, he then took out several items and arranged them on the floor.

There was a pad of papers, several small jars of paint and some charcoal. Most of them he had confiscated from Galdor, the traveling artist who frequently visited Mirkwood to exhibit his works.  Legolas had been very impressed with Galdor's paintings, which were mostly of sceneries and trees. The prince had wondered why there were no painting of the elves, so he decided to make one himself.

Surprisingly, he had succeeded on his very first try. He had done such a great likeness of Keldarion that he wanted to make more. He had drawn his father, Commander Linden and several other Mirkwood warriors, and even himself. But it was the drawing of his mother that gave him the most pride. He never knew his mother, but he frequently saw her in his dreams. That was how he knew what she looked like.

Nobody realized that he could draw that well, not even his older brother. Legolas had been drawing in secrecy because he was a little afraid that everyone would think it silly for a noble prince like him to do the work of a commoner.

Picking up the drawing of his mother, Legolas gazed sadly at her. A fat tear spilled over and ran down his cheek as he recalled the things that Keldarion had blurted to him in the field.

"Mother, I took something of you from Kel, and I have broken it," he whispered to the drawing. "I can't replace the bottle, but I hope your picture will make him feel better."

The little prince hugged the picture briefly before placing it on his bed. He then waited for his brother to return.

**********************

After having his second ride for that day, Keldarion had calmed down a bit even if his anger was still simmering. He directed his mount towards the stable, feeling quite guilty for pushing hard at the mare into that wild and reckless ride.

They galloped into the large airy building, both mount and rider looking weary and worn out. Keldarion was so deep in his miserable thoughts that he was late to notice a small figure that suddenly emerged from one of the boxes to stand right in his path. 

Waiting in his chamber for his brother had made him restless, so Legolas had decided to wait in the stable. When Keldarion finally came into view, the little prince had smiled, albeit anxiously. He still feared his brother's anger, but he couldn't wait to see his reaction when he presented Keldarion his gift.

Legolas jumped forward in his eagerness to show Keldarion the picture…then looked on in horror at the big mare that was coming straight at him. "Kel! No!"

"Ai Elbereth!" Keldarion jerked on the horse's mane, ordering it to stop. The mare loudly neighed in panic by the sudden move, rearing up on her hind legs with her front feet kicking in the air. 

Legolas had stumbled to the ground beneath the powerful hoofs, crying out and cowering in fear. The little prince instinctively covered his head under his arms, somehow losing hold on his mother's picture in the confusion. He screamed in pain when a blow caught his hand and then his back. "Please don't kill me! Kel, please, I'm sorry! Don't kill me, please!"

Keldarion finally got the distressed mare under control with the help of the stable hands that had come running at Legolas' cries. The prince quickly dismounted and knelt down beside his brother. "Legolas!" Gathering his brother gently into his arms, Keldarion could not stop the tears that flowed from his eyes. "Valar! Forgive me, little one! I'm sorry! I didn't see you."

Legolas was sobbing and crying. "I thought…you…you wanted to kill me…"

Keldarion's mouth dropped open as he gazed down at his brother in deep shock. "Why would you think that way?"

"Because…I broke that bottle…I thought…you don't love me any more…" Legolas' voice grew fainter as he slowly lost consciousness. The mare's hoofs had left some bruises and bumps on his little body that Keldarion feared to be very serious injuries. 

With Legolas cradled securely in his arms, Keldarion smoothly got to his feet. He then caught sight of a piece of paper lying on the ground a few feet away. Curious, he bent down to pick it up and was greatly surprised to see that it was a picture of their mother.

"How did you…?" Keldarion whipped his eyes back to his brother but Legolas was already unconscious. Gazing down at the sorrowful and dirt-smudged face of his little brother made Keldarion completely forget his own recent anger. All that was left was deep regret and remorse for the way he had treated Legolas earlier.

Leaving the mare under the care of the stable hands, Keldarion rushed towards the palace with his precious burden, hoping that he was not too late to repair the greatest mistake he had ever made in his life.

**********************

Thranduil, the king of Mirkwood, saw the deep guilt on his elder son's face as they sat together beside Legolas' bed and waited for the elfling to wake up. 

"Kel?" the king called softly. 

The young prince looked up, his eyes sad and worried. "Yes, father?"

"He will be fine. His injuries are not so grave. Your brother will recover," Thranduil reassured his eldest son for the umpteenth time.

Keldarion lowered his head, feeling even more miserable. His father was right. Legolas was lucky that he only suffered a bruised collarbone and a sprained wrist, nothing life threatening. But Keldarion knew he had struck Legolas where it hurt the most; his vulnerable heart. Still, his little brother never gave up. Legolas had bravely confronted Keldarion's anger to show him their mother's picture…and he got run down by his brother's mount for it.

Keldarion had seen the scattered drawings and art supplies in his brother's chamber when he brought Legolas in. He instantly knew that the drawings, including the one of their mother, were made by Legolas' own hands. Shocked yet pleased by his discovery, Keldarion marveled at Legolas' secret talent. _Why had I not known of this before?_

Legolas' sudden moan from the bed caught his attention. Keldarion leaned near to his brother and stroked the elfling's cheek. "Legolas?"

Legolas' eyes fluttered open at his brother's voice. "Kel?"

"Yes, little one, I'm here," Keldarion said softly. His eyes then widened in alarm when Legolas tried to raise himself. "Don't move too much! You are hurt."

Legolas didn't take heed, though. Sitting up, he caught his brother's tunic and held on. "I'm sorry, Kel. If I had known the bottle meant so much to you, I would never have broken it. I'm sorry…"

Keldarion briefly closed his eyes as he gingerly hugged his brother, mindful of Legolas' injuries. "Nay, Legolas. _I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to say those unkind words to you. I didn't mean any of it, I swear."_

"You still love me?"

"Always, brat. Always. I never broke my promise, did I?"

"I…I have made a picture of mother," Legolas said timidly. "I know it's nothing compared to the scent you had kept…"

"It's not nothing, Legolas!" Keldarion exclaimed. "It's _everything_!" He reached over to take the said picture from the table beside the bed and they stared at it together. "See? You've captured her features perfectly! I haven't seen anything quite like it before. How did you do it? And why didn't you tell me you can draw?"

Legolas began to blush when his older brother kept praising him for his brilliant creations. He was smiling ear to ear as Keldarion went through his drawings one by one, commenting in appreciation.

Thranduil stared in mystified silence at his two sons who had their heads close together. The king knew that they didn't even realize he was still there, so engrossed his children were with each other. Relieved that the princes had finally settled the conflict between them, Thranduil rose, kissed both his sons' heads and left the chamber without a word.

"Kel?"

"Yes, brat?"

"I will draw more of mother if you want me to. At least you will have something else to remember her by now that the bottle is broken."

Keldarion smiled and cradled his brother closer to his heart. "I'd love that, brat. Still, I won't need her pictures to remember her by. I've already got _you. And that is more than enough."_

Legolas returned his brother's smile. "Really?"

"Yes. Really." Keldarion nodded seriously. "Just remember one thing."

"What?"

"I know how dangerous you are with your bow, so please use the _appropriate_ target when you practice archery next time!"

Legolas was still giggling when Keldarion turned down the light and lay beside his brother on the bed. 

That night, they both dreamed of their mother. And both princes had smiles on their sleeping faces.

**THE END**

**I would like to thank Jamie once again for suggesting this fic to me. And I would also like to thank every one of you for all your support and encouragement during the whole time I've been here on the board. THANK YOU.**

**P/s : Karina, your reviews these last few days had kept me floating above air! MERCI!**

**Meagan, my beta, I hope you win the Nationals in that band competition. I'm glad you're always there for me.**

**Next attraction**: Another prequel is coming up. It's called 'Turbulent Vengeance'. What it is all about? I have a feeling that most of you already have a clue of what it's going to be, right? (Hint: 'Torment Not The Child').****

**See you next week!**


End file.
